California mystery man pays for customers’ groceries

CONCORD, Calif. (KTVU/CNN) — A group of shoppers at the Grocery Outlet Bargain Market in Concord received their groceries for free earlier this week when a mysterious benefactor walked in and insisted on paying their bills.

Supervisor Jaime Flores said the man walked into the store Tuesday afternoon around 4 p.m. and asked if he could cover the cost of customers’ purchases.

“He’d walk up and wait until the transaction was over and then he’d pay cash for it,” Flores said.

According to Flores, the man spent just over $600 to pay the bills for about a half dozen people.

“We had people hugging him,” Flores said. “People were asking him if he won the lottery, if he had a good job, but he didn’t really want to give our any information.”

The man told store employees and those whose groceries he paid for that he wished to remain anonymous. Flores said she questioned the man about why he would be so kind.

Concord resident Josh Breams told KTVU he missed the anonymous man by two hours that day.

“Of course it breaks my heart that I wasn’t here and didn’t reap the rewards, but it’s pretty amazing,” said Breams. It kind of makes you have faith in humanity again. I wish there were more people with that kind of joy.”

Surveillance video did capture the mystery man in action, but store management is protecting that video and respecting the man’s wishes to remain anonymous.